


Meanwhile, In Underfell...

by MageOfLight



Series: i swear, this was supposed to just be poly skeleheat sin. now there's an extended story. huh. [4]
Category: Undertale
Genre: Boss is a jerk, Frisk is a Sweetheart, Frisk is also apparently the god of friendship, I thought I did, Oh here's some tags, and then the characters kinda ran away with the story, even to monsters that don't really deserve it, i have no idea what to tag this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-13
Updated: 2016-11-13
Packaged: 2018-08-30 18:19:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8544055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MageOfLight/pseuds/MageOfLight
Summary: When Sans suddenly vanishes without a trace one day, Papyrus is left to try and find his lazy, good for nothing brother... only before he can, he has a human to deal with. Neither task go as well as he'd hoped.





	

**Author's Note:**

> edit on 12/11/2016 for minor revisions.

Papyrus paced angrily back and forth through the living room, a low growl rumbling from his throat, and his tail lashing the air behind him in aggravated swipes. It spoke volumes of his rage levels that his tail was even moving, let alone so violently. Papyrus was a monster that prided himself on his absolute control of everything, including every aspect of his own body. And yet, his brother could always provoke uncontrolled reactions from him, no matter what. It was something that both enraged him and felt strangely satisfying. In this case, though, it was only rage that held him. His brother had skipped every single one of his jobs that day, and now it was well into the evening with no sign of him. Even when he skipped work, Sans was never, _ever_ late for dinner. It was the one bit of routine they had that was relaxing.  
  
Getting almost desperate, Papyrus dialled his brother's phone for the tenth time that evening and again was instantly sent to voicemail. It was utterly infuriating, but he decided to give up on it for the time being and go to bed. There was no sense in continuing on like this. Sans would come back when he felt like it.

\--------------------------------------------

It had been three days. Three whole days since Sans vanished without a trace. Papyrus had even broken into that 'secret' room Sans kept. Oh, of course he'd known about it. It was his brother's one remaining sanctuary and Papyrus, for some reason he couldn't even parse, had let him go on thinking that it was still a secret, allowed him to keep that last little bit to himself. He'd had enough, though. Sans surely had to be down there. Honestly, he'd been impressed with how clean and taken care of the tiny lab was, but all he'd found that seemed out of place down there was a ruined husk of a machine (which he'd thoughtlessly covered with a nearby sheet. It felt wrong to leave it exposed) and bits of burnt blue paper. Sans had been nowhere to be found.  
  
Lacking any sign of dust that might have hinted the older skeleton had been caught up in whatever had burnt the paper (perhaps Sans had even done it himself in a fit of rage), and lacking any other reason to stay and further violate that last scrap of privacy his brother could claim, Papyrus left the little basement lab, carefully relocked and closed the door behind him, then went off to see Alphys. If anyone could find Sans, it would have to be her with her cameras.

\--------------------------------------------

Three days turned to three weeks, then to three months. There had been absolutely no trace of Sans for the entire time. Even holding Undyne's life hostage against Alphys hadn't yielded any results. The only reason he even knew Sans was still alive somewhere was that he could sense the magic he'd laced into Sans' collar was still in contact with his brother's magic. The most frustrating part of that, though, was that he could not for the life of him trace his own magic.  
  
Unfortunately, he couldn't spare much time at all to search for his no-good brother, either. As captain of the royal guard, he had much work to do. The human that had come to the underground had him busier than ever, trying to catch the blasted thing. However, he'd found it to be more slippery than an eel, always escaping all his traps. It had even managed to befriend the entire wolf unit and all of the monsters in Snowdin except himself, much to his intense irritation. Because of the human, he'd been forced to temporarily abandon his home, moving his base of operations to one of the abandoned homes in Waterfall. He honestly hated it there with a fiery passion. The constant damp made his bones ache in a way the cold of Snowdin had never managed to.  
  
He growled softly under his breath, eyeing Undyne critically as she stared unflinchingly at him, even as he loomed over her. "Undyne. If you want to retain rank as second in command," he paused, glaring at the fish-woman, "you'll catch that blasted human and bring it to me," he finished, then snarled as she scoffed.  
  
"You expect me to do it when _you're_ the one who was driven out of Snowdin by it, _Captain?_ I know I would have never allowed the Snowdin unit to turn on me like that. The price of betrayal was being _dusted_ under my command. The problem is, you're too soft, Papyrus," Undyne hissed, poking a finger at Papyrus' chest armour.  
  
"And yet, this _too soft_ monster beat you and took your position. What does that say about you, _Vice-Captain?_ The only reason I didn't dust you back then is that you're strong. You're _useful_. Don't make me regret my choice in letting you live, Undyne." What he didn't say was that she was a good tool to use against Alphys. But then, Alphys could easily be used against Undyne, too. Oh, he'd seen the way Undyne looked at Alphys when she thought no one was looking. If he'd been a softer monster, he would have thought it was sweet. To him, it was just useful that they cared about each other without knowing the other loved them back. "Oh, and Undyne? Do make sure you bring the human straight to me. You wouldn't like to know what I'd do to a certain someone if, say, you try to take it straight to Asgore to further your rank." He smiled, just as shark-like as Undyne could, and turned to leave her home while the fish-knight snarled at him.  
  
"Stars, I fucking hate your guts, Papyrus!" she called after him. He just laughed and kept walking.

\--------------------------------------------

He couldn't fucking believe it. The human had befriended Undyne _and_ convinced her to set him up for a trap, which included a magic restraining collar of all things. He couldn't believe it. How had she even gotten her hands on one? He sat, bound and snarling, tail lashing and striking the wall in his temporary home, glaring at Undyne who adjusted the little human on her shoulder, whistling lowly. "Damn, I don't think I've ever seen him this pissed. Are you sure it's a good idea to not dust him, kid?" she asked.  
  
The child nodded, emphatically. "Kindness is important, Undyne. Sometimes, kindness is all we can give, so you should always strive to be kind," they said in their quiet voice, and Papyrus felt his rage bubbling up higher.  
  
"YOU THINK THIS IS KINDNESS, HUMAN? RESTRICTING THE MAGIC OF A MONSTER WHO RELIES ON IT AS HEAVILY AS MY KIND DO?" He was yelling. Even his control over his own volume was slipping. Undyne was staring at him wide-eyed.  
  
"No. I know this isn't a kindness to you, Papyrus... and I'm really sorry. It wasn't my idea, but you won't listen to reason, so we have to make do," the child replied with a sigh, squirming off Undyne's shoulder. "I would like to help free you all... but unless you can learn to be kind, you'll likely be killed by my fellow humans." The human paused and sat just out of range of Papyrus, looking up at him with big, sad eyes and he found himself reminded of Sans. The lashing of his tail slowed slightly, though he remained glaring. "Mom told me about the war, and how you were all driven underground. I'm sorry. It wasn't right. None of you should have been trapped. None of you should have been forced to undergo this hell." It paused again, looking thoughtful, though it kept eye contact with him. Honestly, he'd cowed tougher monsters than this little creature with a simple glare. He had to give the human credit for meeting his eyes as unflinchingly as it was... though perhaps him being relatively harmless at the moment had something to do with their bravery. "Papyrus? Don't you have someone you care about? Someone you'd be willing to change for? Undyne does. The wolves all have someone. Everyone I've met so far has someone they'd be willing to turn their lives around for, so that that someone can see the sun and the stars one day. Don't you?" The question jolted him from his thoughts, and unknowingly to him, his expression shifted from an enraged snarl to a simple frown as he stared at the human.  
  
"...NO. I'VE NEVER HAD SOMEONE LIKE THAT."  
  
"You hesitated. You _do_. You don't have to say who it is. That's fine, Papyrus... but... please don't lie to yourself."  
  
"I DON'T HAVE ANYONE, HUMAN," Papyrus' tail lashed harder into the wall, cracking it. The human winced at the sound and Undyne peaked over his shoulder, letting out another low whistle.  
  
"Shit, keep forgetting how hard that thing is. Seriously, though Captain, you better stop that. You're gonna hurt your tail if you keep that up," Undyne uttered, clearly trying her best (and failing) not to laugh.  
  
"Undyne... be nice," the human scolded, though it sounded somewhat playful. Then their thoughtful expression turned sad. "You've lost that person, haven't you?"  
  
Undyne's eyes widened at that question. "...oh, shit. It's Sans, isn't it? Come on, bonehead. You said it yourself. You can still sense him, can't you? He must have gone somewhere Alphys' cameras can't reach."  
  
Papyrus' tail fell still behind him, though he didn't seem to notice, glaring and snarling. "I DO NOT CARE ABOUT THAT USELESS LUMP THAT CALLS ITSELF MY BROTHER."  
  
Undyne and the human shared a startled, but knowing look and Undyne reached out and picked the human back up, settling it on her shoulder again. "Sure, Papyrus, you keep telling yourself that. Let's go, kid. We can come back later when we've given this bonehead some time to think. In the meantime, I think you have a bunch of hostile monsters to befriend," she said, ruffling the human's hair and causing them to giggle softly, though they still aimed a sad look back at Papyrus over Undyne's shoulder as the two left, leaving him bound in every way possible.  
  
The worst part was, Papyrus knew that the human didn't even want to leave him restrained like that.

\--------------------------------------------

Amazingly, the human had succeeded. They, and their first friend in the Underground, a little golden flower monster, had succeeded in befriending and teaching kindness and the value of peace to the inhabitants of the Underground, and then, of all things, succeeded in breaking the barrier. It had only taken them several months, but now, for the first time in his life, Papyrus was stepping out into the world.  
  
The sun was setting as he exited the cavern, his large hand curled around one of Frisk's small ones. It was... alarmingly beautiful. Pain wracked his soul as he realized that he was seeing this sight without his older brother. He'd always expected, even when he'd convinced himself that he hated Sans, that he'd see the outside world for the first time with Sans at his side. Now that little fantasy was shattered. Even with Frisk's help, he'd failed in finding Sans.  
  
Of course, he could still vaguely sense his brother, but there was no way to track him. It was like he'd completely vanished from the underground. Who knows, maybe he'd somehow escaped the barrier. Maybe he was already up here in the light. Papyrus could only hope. Maybe one day, he'd have the chance to apologize. Not that he deserved Sans' forgiveness. There was much he'd done wrong and there was no way to make it right.  
  
"Papyrus? Are you okay?" Frisk's quiet voice brought him out of his thoughts, and he looked down at the child, finding them looking up at him with a concerned expression. "You're crying," they told him when he canted his head inquisitively. Startled, he brought his free hand to his face. His bare phalanges touched a damp cheek and he frowned.  
  
"I... hadn't realized. I apologize for worrying you, human." Papyrus sighed, using his sweater sleeves to mop away the tears. There was no point in crying. Sans was still alive out there somewhere. Wherever he was, Papyrus hoped he was happy. His brother deserved it.

\--------------------------------------------

Humans weren't the most... accepting creatures in the world, but Papyrus could understand that. A lot of dark and frankly, terrifying monsters had suddenly spilled out of the mountain where humans were said to vanish, never to return, a small, human child leading the way. A human child with a very clever silver tongue, it turned out.  
  
It took a bit, but the humans settled down and gave the monsters the outside of the mountain, and the land around it to build on. It helped that gold was apparently more valuable to humans than it was to monsters and that monsters had a LOT of gold to go around. Papyrus' job was still that of royal guard even now, but it had shifted to a more... benign role. No killing humans. He was part of a now small unit (that included Undyne and the wolves) meant to keep the king, queen, and their tiny human ambassador safe from assassination attempts, of which there'd been a few since establishing their community.  
  
Papyrus... wasn't really feeling up to being a guard that day, though. It had been a year since Sans had vanished, and he felt the regret deeper than ever as he noted the day. If he'd just been a good brother, would Sans have vanished? Would he have come back if he hadn't meant to leave? The skeleton had no way of knowing. His brother was a mystery to him now. He sat up in bed, tail flicking lightly against the side of it before he swung his feet over the side. Regardless of how he felt, he had work to do.  
  
He sighed, getting up and dressed before stepping out of his room, only to stiffen as he heard sounds downstairs. "...Sans?" he questioned quietly, but then shook his head. It was impossible, after all. How would Sans have even known he was here in this place? Certainly, it looked a lot like their Snowdin home (including his brother's room, right down to the loose socks on the floor), but... He shook his head, readied a bone attack, then snuck downstairs.  
  
"Good morning, Papyrus," Frisk greeted, smiling warmly. His magic dissolved instantly as he remembered that Frisk had stayed the night there. They'd asked and he'd... not said no. His mind had been on his brother yesterday as well. Honestly, he had no idea why Frisk had wanted to spend the night here of all places. Even now, he didn't _really_ get along with the little human. He was civil to them at best. He did his job, but he didn't really like them. The memory of the human and Undyne leaving him bound for a full week in a magic restraining collar (no matter that the human had begged Undyne to remove it when they realized it was actually _hurting_ him, only for Undyne to emphatically refuse) was still too strong.  
  
The worst part of that memory was that it was like some sort of revenge was being enacted on him for doing the same to Sans... multiple times. He shook off the thought with a sigh, watching Frisk, who'd apparently been making some sort of breakfast pie. "...something you learned from the queen?" he asked, furrowing his browridges. The human beamed.  
  
"Yes! I thought we could stay here today. Mom and Dad called off all their meetings and such, so you have the day off, anyway."  
  
"And when did this happen?"  
  
"Well... um... Last night... I may have asked on your behalf? Undyne and Alphys told me something, and..." Understanding dawned on Papyrus as Frisk trailed off with a sad look and he slumped into a chair at the table.  
  
"Heh... he would love you, human. I hope one day he comes back, if only to meet you," Papyrus replied quietly. The human was too kind. They patted him on the shoulder, then plated out a slice of pie for him.  
  
They ate breakfast in silence, then retreated to the living room to watch TV for a bit. Papyrus wasn't really focused on it, though. Instead, he was concentrating on the bit of magic that linked him to Sans. Something felt off about Sans' magic. He wasn't able to get a good enough read with the distance to tell what it was, but he tried not to worry about it. Good or bad, he had no clue. The day was spent in relative silence. Frisk was good company, talking rarely and making sure he ate despite his clear distraction. They headed off Undyne's attempt to bother him as well, which was extremely nice. He knew she would have just barged right in and talked his ear off if Frisk hadn't been there.  
  
It was getting late now, Frisk smiled as they urged him to get up and get ready for bed. They'd stay the night, then it'd be back to the usual the next day. He was just standing up to do what Frisk suggested when he suddenly staggered with a gasp. Like a stretched out elastic, his magic snapped, recoiling against him from wherever it had been tethered to. Sans' magic was gone. He collapsed, laying on his side, panting. Tears rolled down his cheeks silently, unknown to him as he stared blankly ahead, Frisk's panicked calls of his name barely even registering. "...Sans..." he murmured weakly, then like his magic had broken, something inside him snapped, and he sobbed. There were only two ways that could have happened, and one was more likely than the other. Either Sans had managed to get his collar off, or... he was dead.  
  
He didn't even register his skull being lifted and set in a small lap, or small, gentle hands soothingly stroking the bone and wiping at his tears. The only thing he felt was soul-numbing pain as it sunk in that not only was his brother somewhere beyond his reach... but that he was now likely only a pile of dust, a collar, and an oversized leather jacket. He'd lost him for real now, and he'd never gotten the chance to apologize... never gotten to thank him for all the years he'd cared for him when rightly, he should have just left his needy baby brother to be dusted. He keened lowly, closing his eyes. Like that, resting in Frisk's lap, he let grief consume him and cried himself to sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> ...i guess Edge isn't all that bad after all. too bad his redemption fic ends with him thinking Red is dead. we aren't coming back to visit Underfell again, so I'll just say this.
> 
> Edge is... mostly okay? he doesn't fall down or anything, but Frisk makes sure he has a good amount of time to properly grieve over his older brother's death before insisting he move on. that Sans likely wouldn't want him to waste away. he winds up living on for Sans, because he knows, even if Sans hated his guts for all the things he did, that Sans wouldn't have wanted him to fall down because he'd died. and he's correct in that, too. if they were to ever meet again, Red would forgive Edge in an instant, especially seeing how much he's changed. (...well, maybe it wouldn't be quite that fast, seeing as he'd have to get over a panic attack brought on by Edge hugging him first. whoops. but after that! despite everything, Red loves his baby brother.)
> 
> of course, all that is hypothetical. Red is never going back to Underfell, and Edge is going to continue thinking that Red is dead. this loose end is now tied, and there's no changing it.


End file.
